Chapter 436 The Same Flavor
Only the sound of her panting could be heard in the stairway. Courtney was tense as she leaned against the door and stared at Alexander for a moment before she slowly relaxed.
“How much did you drink?”
“I’m not drunk.”
She slightly frowned when she heard his reply. People who are drunk always claim that they are not. Based on his personality, he wouldn’t do something like taking the initiative to come to my place if he’s not drunk.
“You drank so much. How did you come?”
“I drove here.”
Courtney’s face darkened. “Don’t you treasure your life?”
Alexander ignored her and he slowly crouched while holding the wall for support. After picking up her keys and passing them to her, his usually cold eyes had a flicker of hope in them. “Are you worried for me?”
“I’m just worried that Jordan won’t have a parent to take care of him in the future.” Courtney took the keys from him in annoyance and glared at Alexander. “He is still young. Do you want to leave him all alone in the future?”
Alexander’s eyes slightly dimmed. After a moment of silence, he answered morosely, “I actually took a cab here.”
It seems like he is not completely out of his mind. Courtney shot him a glance and knowing that he was still conscious, she suggested, “Since you are not drunk, call your assistant to pick you up and send you home.”
With that, she opened the door and entered her house. When she closed the door again, it was so loud that the entire building seemed to shake.
After she entered her apartment, she placed the trash bags in her bin before she walked to the washroom and polished every surface with a clean cloth. Only ten minutes had passed after she was done with the cleaning.
However, it was now raining cats and dogs outside.
The flash of lightning instantly lit up the room as if it was still day before it was followed by a loud clap of thunder. It made the scene look terrifying as the rain pelted on her windows.
I hope he isn’t sitting at the stairway? Courtney tossed and turned on the bed, but she couldn’t fall asleep peacefully.
After turning once again, she could no longer withstand it and got out of bed to walk to the door. She saw Alexander smoking as he leaned against the wall through her surveillance camera. He’s crazy! It’s already so late, yet he hasn’t left.
Then, she opened the door and looked at him with a questioning gaze, but she did not utter a word.
Alexander froze in his action of smoking as the cigarette rested in between his slender fingers. As the ash fell from the end of the cigarette, it was dispersed into the wind along the stairway.
He frowned and explained with a grunt, “The rain is too heavy, so I can’t hail any cab. And my phone is out of battery, so I’m just waiting.”
Courtney couldn’t be bothered to guess whether he was telling the truth or not. As she stared at him being drenched, she turned around and said, “Come in.”
She didn’t see the shock on Alexander’s face as he froze in that moment. He quickly extinguished his cigarette and followed her into her apartment as if he was worried that she would later regret her decision.
Courtney was making some tea in the kitchen whereupon the fragrance of jasmine slowly permeated the air.
She loved to drink different types of flower tea, and this habit of hers had not changed even after many years.
After placing a cup in front of Alexander, she went to the washroom to take a dry towel and passed it to him. “Use this to dry your hair.”
Even though he had taken the cab here, he was in a mess—his hair was still dripping wet with water. If he didn’t dry it, there was a high chance of him catching a cold.
As he drank the glass of warm tea, his body now felt warm and he was much more sober.
“Is your assistant still Josh? You probably still remember his number, don’t you?” Courtney suddenly asked.
Alexander froze for a moment and he lowered his head to hide the disappointment in his eyes. “Three years ago, Josh was transferred to one of our subsidiaries abroad. My current assistant is his cousin, Eric.”
“Give him a call then.”
She opened the dial page on her phone and passed the device to him.
Alexander had an eidetic memory and was especially sensitive to numbers. He never saved anyone’s number in his phone and he was somehow able to remember people with a mere glance, so it was rather unlikely that he could lie his way out now.
So, he called Eric’s phone number in front of Courtney.
A doubtful and slightly anxious voice rang on the other end. “Hello, may I know who this is?”
“It’s me.”
Alexander’s hoarse voice was exceptionally clear in the quiet living room.
Eric was stunned for a moment, but he quickly returned to his senses. “President Duncan? Where have you been? The meeting here has already ended. Why did you disappear moments after I went to the washroom?”
They had met with President Howell that afternoon to sign a contract followed by dinner at a nightclub. Everyone was happily drinking the night away and although Alexander never fancied drinking, he didn’t reject the offer to drink wine by the bottle without even blinking. His action had only caused Eric to look at him with wide eyes.
Both the host and the guest had a good time, but Eric still didn’t see Alexander after picking up the tab even though President Howell and his people had already gone home by that time. It frightened Eric to the point where he quickly searched high and low for his boss. Just as he was about to ask the KTV management for access to the surveillance tapes of the club, he received a call from an unfamiliar number.
Alexander merely shared his current location and asked Eric to pick him up without explaining further.
After hanging up the call, Alexander returned the phone to Courtney. “He should be here soon. If you mind, I can wait outside.”
“It’s okay,” she calmly replied. “We are considered friends anyway. Since you are just here for a cup of tea, I don’t mind.”
His face paled as soon as he heard the word ‘friends’, which caused his movement to sip on the tea to stiffen.
Since the storm outside was still brewing, it would take some time for Eric to arrive by car.
Courtney busied herself in the apartment as she showed no inclination of chatting with Alexander at all.
“Would you like to have some noodles?”
Her question rang from the kitchen.
“You don’t have to trouble yourself since you can just sit down.”
“Don’t think too much into it.” She raised her head from the kitchen to look at him. “I haven’t had dinner yet. Regardless of whether you’re here or not, I already planned to cook a bowl of noodles for myself.”
Alexander looked at her figure with a conflicted expression.
Courtney was rather experienced in cooking. After ten minutes, two bowls of noodles with sunny side ups were placed on the table. Then, she waved at him to ask him to join her at the dining table.
She behaved casually from the beginning to the end, as if she did not really care about him.
However, it was her casual attitude that made him feel more empty.
As he ate the noodles that he cooked, it still contained the familiar flavor that he remembered. The alcohol in his stomach was slowly metabolized while he ate, but he placed his cutleries down after only sampling half of it.
“Is it bad?” A doubtful Courtney looked at him and asked, “You don’t like it?
“It’s delicious.” Alexander looked at her with exhaustion on his cold face. “It’s that taste I still remember.”
“Oh, cut the crap.” Courtney smiled calmly. “How could you remember the flavor after five years? Apart from that, you have already stopped eating even though you haven’t polished the bowl. If you really remember the flavor, I bet it’s not a nice taste!”
Alexander was silent for a few seconds before he explained, “My stomach isn’t very good. The doctor asked me not to eat too much at one go.”
Courtney’s expression froze as she unknowingly tightened her grip on the chopsticks. If she hadn’t stopped herself in time, she could’ve blurted out the question she had in mind. However, she changed the topic stiffly as she asked, “What’s the time now? I think your assistant might be arriving soon.”
